Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02857007 2014-08-04
1
Method for producing a textile surface heating element
Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a method for producing a textile surface heating ele-
ment.
Background of the Invention
Such a method is known from EP 1 815 717 Bl. The method described in that
document serves in particular to produce surface heating elements used in seat
heaters in the automotive sector. In accordance with this method, by means of
machine kni tting, a base material. for example a non-woven material. is
pierced
with a knitted material.
In one and the same work step, by machine knitting, heatconductorsare insert-
ed at least partly as warp threads and contact conductors that touch the heat
conductors are inserted at spacings from one another as weft threads or weft
threadgroups, such that the heat conductors and contact conductors are an in-
tegral component of the base material.
One advantage of this method is that the heat conductors and contact conduc-
tors are integrated into the surface heating element in one work step along
with
the production of the knitted material itself, the result being a significant
streaml ining advantagein the production of the surface heating elements, com-
pared to previously known methods in which the contact conductors and heat
conductors had to be integrated into the surface heating clement in a multi-
step
process.
The invention aims to solve the problem of providing a method of the afore-
mentioned type which enables further improved, streamlined man ufac turi tigof
surface heating elements with high functionality. The features of the independ-
ent claims are provided to solve this problem. Advantageous embodiments and
CA 02857007 2014-08-04
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expedient further developments of the invention are described in the dependent
claims.
Summary
A method to produce a textile surface heating element isdescribed in which a
knitted material is formed and, in one in the same work step, thc heat conduc-
tors are inserted as warp threads in a knitting process, with the contact
conduc-
torsthat touch the heat conductors being inserted at spacings from one another
as weft threads or weft thread groups, characterized in that a warp knitting
ma-
chine or Raschel machine is used to produce the surface heating element, the
to production speed of which machine is varied as a function of stitch
formation
and/or characterized in that the warp knitting machine or Rasehel machine has
a magazine weft insertion system with feeding chains to feed in weft threads
and a weft carriage to insert weft threads, wherein both the feeding chain and
the weft carriage are paused for preset times as a function of stitch
formation.
In an embodiment, not only the production speed but also the pause times of
the feeding chains and of the weft carriage arc each controlled by means of a
pulse controller. In another embodiment, to produce the knitted material,
fringe
stitches are formed using a first guide bar and that two guide bars are used
to
insert the heat conductors in the form of warp threads.
The two guide bars may be used to create differing offsets for the heat conduc-
tors perpendicular to the direction in which the feeding chains run. The
offsets
amount to +/- 1.5 inches with respect to a base line. The production speed mav
be reduced in areas where the heat conductors have a large offset compared to
areas where the heat conductors have small offsets.
In an embodiment, a base material, in particular a non-woven material, is used
and is penetrated by the knitted material, with the heat conductors and
contact
conductors being connected to the base material and fixed in place by the
fringe stitches. The heat conductors may fonn stitches that surround the
contact
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conductors, and insulatiorthreads may be inserted into the knitted material as
weft threads.
A magazine weft insertion system for a warp knitting machine or Raschel ma-
chine has feeding chains to feed in weft threads and a weft carriage to insert
weft threads a knitted material, characterized in that a control unit is
provided
for the purpose of pausing the weft carriage and the feeding chain for preset
times during the knitting process as a function of stitch formation in the
knitted
material.
In an embodiment, the control unit is a pulse controller unit and'or that
pararne-
Ci software is provided in the control unit. A textile surface heating
ele-
ment may be produced according to a method. The use of a surface heating
element may be for the purpose of heating elements in the interior of a motor
vehicle. The surface he ating element may be used for a seat heater in a motor
vehicle, wherein the scat of the motor vehicle has a top layer forming the sur-
13 face of the seat and a comfort layer located under the top layer,
wherein the
surface heating element is arranged directly beneath the top layer or the com-
fort layer forms the base material of the surface heating element, with which
the heat conductors and contact conductors are connected by way of the fringe
stitches. It may also be used as a wall or floor heater in a building, as
heated
20 wallpaper, or to heat a clothing i te in.
Description of Figures
Figure 1: Schematic illustrationofeomponents of a Raschel machine used
to produce the surface heating element pursuant to the invention.
Figure 2: Schematic illustration of a magazine weft insertion system for
25 the Rase hel machine as per Figure I.
Figure 3: Example of a surface heating element produced using a Ra sc he
I
machine as per Figure 1.
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Figure 4: Schematic illustration of a first structure of contact
conductors
and heat conductors for the surface heating element pursuant to
the invention.
Figure 5: Schematic illustration of a second structure of contact conduc-
tors and heat conductors for the surface heating element pursu-
ant to the invention.
Figure 6: Schematic illustration of a third structure of contact eonduc
tors
and heat conductors for the surface heating element pursuant to
the invention.
Detailed Description of the Invention
The invention concerns a method for producing a textile surface heating ele-
ment in which a knitted material is formed, and the heatconduc tors are
inserted
in a knitting process as warp threads in one and the same work step. The con-
tact conductors that touch the heat conductors are introduced at spacings from
1 5 each other as weft threads or weft thread groups. To produce the
surface heat-
ing element, a warp knitting machine or Rase hel machine is used, the produe-
tion speed of which varies as a function of stitch formation. The warp
knitting
machine or Raschel machine has a magazine weft insertion system with feed-
ing chains to feed in weft threads and a weftcarriage to insert we ftthreads.
2() Alternatively or additionally, to vary the production speed, both the
feeding
chains and the weftearriage are paused for preset times determined as a fano-
tion of stitch fortnation.
The surface heating element pursuant to the invention is generally character-
ized in that homogeneous heat distribution is achieved across the entire area
of
25 the surface heating element since the heat conductors inserted as warp
threads
form a multiple arrangement of threads lying densely adjacent to one another
in
the knitted material. An additional significant advantage is the low energy in-
CA 02857007 2014-08-04
put required to produce heat using the surface heating element pursuant to the
invention.
In accordance with a first aspect of the method, the production speed varies
during production of the knitted material as a function of stitchformation, so
5 that the mean production speed can be significantly increasedaseompared
to a
constantproduction speed, which saves a considerable amount of time and re-
sults in shorter machine run-times in the production of the surface heating
ele-
ment pursuant to the invention.
The invention is therefore based on the insight that the complexity of produ
ing the surface heating element varies locally with regard to the individual
stitches of the knitted material. This is due to the circumstance that, on one
hand, the contact conductors are only inserted locally as weft threads, either
individually or as groups, and the structure of the heat conductors in the
area of
these contact conductors is more compl ex than i n the area between the
contact
conductors, especially in order to produce the best possible contact between
the
heat conductors and the contact conductors. The method pursuant to the inven-
tiontakes this circumstance into account by necessarily reducing the produc-
tion speed in the areas where the knitted material exhibits a complex
structure.
However, in areas where the knitted material exhibits less complexity, the pro-
duction speed is increased, so that overall a higher average production speed
is
achieved.
In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, the warp knitting machine
or Raschel machine used to produce the surface heating element pursuant to the
invention has a magazine weft insertion system with feeding chains to feed in
weft threads and a we ftearri age to insert weft threads, in which system both
the feeding chains and the weft carriage are paused for preset times
determined
as a function of stitch formation.
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Thus it is possible to considerably reduce, in a surprisingly straightforward
manner, the amount of expensive conducting material used to construct the
contact conductors that is rejected as waste.
The contact conductors are only inserted into the knitted material locally or
in
individual groups, and the contact conductors delimit the individual surface
heatingelements obtained by knitting; tlìat is, the distances between these
con-
tact conductors are relatively. large.
To insert the contact conductors locally in the knitted material, the weft car-
riage does not move continuously, but rather pauses for preset periods. If
only
o the weftcarriage were to be paused and the feeding chain were to continue
to
run, the weft threads forming the contact conductors would continue to be con-
veyed on the feeding chains. This would result in a border of weft threads
along each edge of the knitted materialthat would be rejected as waste once
the
knittedmaterial is cut into individual surface heating elements. Since
pursuant
15 to the invention, not only the weftcarriage but also the weftcarriage
and the
feeding chain are paused synchronously for preset tirries, this rejection of
weft
threads as waste is avoided entirely.
The magazine weft insertion system pursuant to the invention with a control
unit by means of which the weftcarriage and the feeding chain are paused for
20 presettirnes as a function of stitch formation duringthe material
knitting pro-
cess, can be used for warpknitting machines ingeneral, and Raschel machines
in particular. Use of the magazine weft insertion system pursuant to the inven-
tion is especially advantageous when expensive weft threads are used ti)r
which any waste would result in significant costs.
25 The variation of the production speed pursuant to the invention, as a
function
of stitch formation in the knitted material, can also generally be used in
warp
knitting machines, and Rase he I machines in particular, in which case a
suitable
control unit is provided as well.
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It is advantageous to employ a pulse controller to control producti on speed
or
also control pause times for the feeding chains and the weftcarriage of the
magazine weft insertion system in accordance with the method pursuant to the
invention. From suitablemachine elements used to form stitches in the knitted
material the pulse controller receives a pulse sequence in time with stitch
for-
mation, and this sets the production speed andior pause titnes in the control
unit
without any additional sensor equipment. It is regarded as advantageous for
the
control unit to have parameterizable software to allow the production speed or
weftcarriage and feeding chain pause times to be optionally varied on an
ap-
plication-specific basis.
In principle, the surface heating element produced using the method pursuant
to the invention can consist solely of the knitted material formed by the
fringe
stitches along with the heat conductors and contact conductors inserted into
it.
with the heat conductors andcontact conductors being generally made of con-
ductive materials, such as carbon.
According to an alternative embodiment, a base material is used, in particular
a
non-woven material, which is pierced by the knitted material.
In this regard, the heat conductors and contact conductors are connected to
the
base material and fastened in place by the fringe stitches.
In both cases, the heat conductors and contact Gond uctors are inserted into
the
knitted material such that they touch at contact points, so that a conductive
con-
tact exists between them and therefore electricity will flow via the contact
con-
ductors to the heat conductors.
According to an especially advantageous further development, the heat conduc-
tors form stitches that surround the contact conductors.
This improves yet further the contact between the heat conductors andcontact
conductors.
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Especially when the heat conductors do not form any stitches that surround the
contact conductors, the contact of the latter with the heat conductors may be
reduced, depending on the arrangement of the contact conductors. This is the
case in particular when a surface heating element is delimited by a group of
contact conductors. In such cases, the last contact conductor can often have
reduced electrical contact to the heat conductor, such that when electricity
is
applied, a great deal of heat results. This results in undesirable limitation
of
heati ng output.
This undesired effect can be avoided in a surprisingly straightforward manner
by additionally inserting in this area an insulation thread made of non-
conductive material as a weft thread that then presses against the contact con-
ductor.
In accordance with anadvantageous embodiment of the invention, to form the
knittedmaterial, fringe stitches are formed using a first guide bar and two
1 5 guide bars are used to insert the heat conductors in the form of warp
threads.
Using two guide bars to insert the heat conductors in the knitted material al-
lows variable patterns to be formed by the heat conductors in the knitted mate-
rial. In particular, two-dimensional interconnected patterns of heat
conductors
can be created which serve to give the surface heating element high heating
power.
It is especially advantageous to use the two guide bars to form difti.:ring
offsets
of the heat conductors transverse to the running direction of the feeding
chain.
In this connection, the offsets are equivalent to +/- 1.5 inches relative to a
base
line.
The offsets created in this manner form long segments of the heatconductors
that are in contact with the contact conductors, and this further improves
elec-
trical c,ontact between the heat conductors and the contact conductors.
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The larger the offsets of the heat conductors are, the more complex the
knitting
operations become. Since the offsets vary depending on location, the reason
for
the complexity in the knitting operations is therefore also position-dependent
along the length of the knitted material. In accordance with the invention,
this
position-dependency is taken into account insofar as, in areas where the heat
conductors exhibit large offsets, production speed is reduced compared to
areas
where the heat conductors exhibit smaller offsets, which has the effect of
opti-
in iz ng, i.e. maxi inizing, production speed.
The surtace heating elements produced using the method pursuant to the inven-
1i) tion can be employed especially advantageously in motor vehicles. In
this con-
nection, the surface heating elements can be used to form steering wheel heat-
ers. In addition, the surface heating elements can be installed within wall
clad-
dings of motor vehicles in order to heat their interiors, which is especially
ad-
vantageous in motor vehicles with electric drive systems.
The surface heating elements pursuant to the invention can be used especially
advantageously to produce seat heaters in motor vehicles. The seats of motor
vehiclesgenerally have a top layer whose upper surface forms the surface on
which sits a person using the seat. The top layer can consist of leather or
fabric.
A softer comfort layer serving as upholstery for the seat is located below the
top layer.
Since the surface heating element pursuant to the invention is a soft, flexi
ble
knitted material, it can be arranged directly beneath the top layer without
com-
promising the comfort of the seat. This represents a significant advantage
over
familiar, conventional surface heating elements which are considerably more
rigid and inflexible than the surface heating element pursuant to the
invention
and which therefore cannot be installed directly beneath the top layer but
must
be installed beneath the comfort layer. As a result, the surface heating
element
pursuant to the invention saves a considerable amount of energy since the sur-
face heating element is only required to heat the top layer and is no longer
re-
quired to heat the comfort layer of the seat in a motor vehicle.
CA 02857007 2014-08-04
IC)
In accordance with an advantageous variant, the surface heating element pur-
suant to the invention can employ non-woven material or a similarly soft
fabric
as a base material. The surface heating element can then itself form the
comfort
layer, and a separate layer forming the comfOrt layer can be dispensed with.
Inadditional advantageous applications, the surface heating element pursuant
to the invention can be used for wall or floor heating purposes in a building,
or
also as heatedwallpaper. Furthermore, the surface heating elements can bc
integrated into clothing items.
Figure 1 shows a schematic view of components of a Raschel machine used to
o produce the surface heating element 1 pursuant to the invention, where
the
Raschel machine in this case is designed as a non-weave Raschelmachine.
Figure 2 shows a magazine weft insertion system for the Raschel machine as
per Figure 1.
This Raschel machine is used to produce a surface heating element 1 as per
c Figure 3 in such a way that a base material, in this case a non-
wovenmaterial
2, is pierced by a knitted material that itself is formed by fringe stitches
3. The
fringe stitches 3 consist of non-electrically-c onductiv e mate rial s. Heat
condue-
tors 4 are inserted as warp threads within this knitted material. Furthermore,
contact conductors 5 are inserted as weft threads to act as electrical supply
20 lines for the heat conductors 4. The heat conductors 4 and contact
conductors 5
consist of electrically conductive material, such as in particular carbon or
also a
rnetallianaterial.
As shown in Figure 1, to produce this knitted material, various types of guide
needles 7, 8 of two guide bars are associated with a needle 6, with the thread
9
25 being threaded through the first guide needle 7 to form the fringe
stitches 3 and
the heat conductor 4 being threaded through the second guide needle 8. In gen-
eral, this device can also be extended such that two guide bars are provided
to
thread two heat conductors 4.
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Furthermore, Figure 1 illustrates a slider 10, which is a component of a tnaga-
zine weft insertion system that is used to insert the contact conductor 5 into
the
knittedmaterial.
The magazine weft insertion system illustrated sehetnatically in Figure 2 has
two feeding chains 11 running in parallel on which hooks are provided to take
up the contact conductors 5 and which each revolve at one conveyance speed.
Furthermore, the magazine weft insertion system has a weftcarriagc 12 run-
ning perpendicular to the conveyance direction F of the feeding chain 11, said
weft carriagehaving eyelets 13 in which the contact conductors 5 can be ac-
commodatedThe slider 10 shown in Figure 1 is operated by the weftcarriage
12. To insert the contact conductors 5 into the knitted material as weft
threads,
the weftcarriage 12 takes up the contact conductors 5 from the feeding chains
11, as shown in Figure 2.
The contact conductors 5 am inserted only in discrete areas of the knitted
mate-
rial using the magazine weft insertion system and in the process they fortn
the
borders of a surface heating element 1. This is illustrated in Figures 4 and
5. In
these illustrations, the areas of the surface heating element 1 that form a
heat-
ing zone of the surface heating element 1 are labeled 'b'. The areas with the
contact conductors 5 forming the borders of the surface heating element 1 are
labeled 'a'. A cutting area labeled 'c is located between adjacent areas 'a'
hav-
ing contaet conductors 5. In this area, the knitted material with the non-
woven
material 2 is cut apart following the production process on the Raschel ma-
chine, thus yielding multiple separate surface heating elements 1.
Since the contact conductors 5 are only inserted into the knitted material in
discrete areas, the weftcarriage 12 is paused when no contact conductors 5 are
being inserted. Pursuant to the invention, the feeding chains 11 are also
paused
along with the weftcarriage 12. This prevents excess contact conductor 5 ma-
terial from being incorporated into the border regions of the knitted
material, if
the feeding chains 11 continued to run, which would then be rejected as waste
at the end of the production process of the surface heating element 1.
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The pause times of the weftearriage 12 and of the feeding chain 11 are con-
trolled by a control unit, which is not illustrated. Parameterizable software
for
pulse control is implemented in the control unit to control the pause times as
a
function of stitch formation.
Furthermore, the control unit also controls the production speed of the Rase
hel
machine, and again this controloperates as a function of stitch formation. The
control is generally implemented in such a way that a slower production speed
is selected in areas where the stitch structure of the knitted material is
complex
and there fore requires a longer processing time than in areas that are less
com-
plex_ Production speed can be maximized by adjusting production speed in this
way to the varying complexity of the structure of the knitted material in
specif-
ic areas of the material.
The variation of production speed pursuant to the invention is explained below
in reference to Figures 4 and 5. These illustrate a grid with needle positions
14
to produce the knitted material, the fringe stitches 3 of which are only
illustrat-
ed locally for the sake of clarity, but they extend over the entire grid.
In the embodiment pursuant to Figure 4, the heat conductors 4 are formed with
an offset of two needle positions 14 in the areas forming the heating zones,
i.e.
in thoseareas, the heat conductors 4 do not follow astraightlineperpendicular
to the contact conductors 5, but rather follow a rectangular zigzag line. For
the
sake of clarity, Figure 4 illustrates only one heat conductor 4, however
multiple
heat conductors 4 are arranged in the knitted material.
In the c utting area 'c', which is later rejected as waste, the heat conductor
4
runs in a straight line so that only a small amount of heat conductor material
is
requiredinthisarea.
In the areas 'a' containing the contact conductors 5, the heat conductor 4 has
a
larger offset extending over six needle positions 14. This results in the heat
conductor 4 beingpositionedagainst the contact conductor 5 over alarge area,
CA 02857007 2014-08-04
13
which ensures good electrical contact between the heat conductor 4 and the
contact conduc tors 5. This contact isfurther improved by the fact that the
heat
conductor 4 fonns stitches (labeled 'I' in Figure 4) in area 'a', and these
stitch-
es surround a contact conductor 5.
As is directly evident from Figure 4, the knitted material structure is most
complex in the areas labeled 'a' and least complex in the areas labeled c. Ac-
cordingly, the production speed is controlled so as to be fastest in the areas
labeled and slowest in the areas labeled 'a', while in the areas labeled
'b',
the production speed is set at a mean rate between the fastest and slowest.
0 In the embodiment pursuant to Figure 5, the heat conductor 4 runs with a
con-
stant offset across all the areas, i.e. those labeled 'a', 'b' and 'c'. In
this case, a
constant production speed can be selected.
Figure 6 schematically illustrates a heat conductor 4 running in the area of
the
contact conductors 5, with an offset of +/- 1.5 inches in both directions with
1 5 respect to a base line 0. This offset can be implemented using two
separate
guide bars for the heat conductors 4. In this case, especially large contact
areas
are provided between heat conductor 4 and contact conductor 5, which in turn
provides good electrical contact.
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14
For ease of the reader' s reference, a legend follows:
(1) Surface heating element
(2) Non-woven material
(3) Fringe stitches
(4) Heat conductor
(5) Contact conductor
(6) Needle
(7) Guide needle
(8) Guide needle
(9) Thread
(10) Slider
(11) Transport chai n
(12) Weft carriage
(13) Eyelet
(14) Needle position
(F) Conveyance direction
